CYNIC

Cynic "Traced In Air" 10/10

This album...oh man this album. I have no doubt that I have easily listened to this beyond awesome LP hundreds of times; Traced In Air is truly the epitome of a perfect album. It has all the elements required for an album of its type, and hits the bar way up there for Prog albums. It has the perfect blend of partially heavy prog riffs, to lighter, easy sections with clean guitar. Cynic seemed to have everything together when writing/recording/producing this album, as the result is an incredible composition of art.

This album was released after a 12 year disbanding, and the reforming was accepted with incredible love and celebration. The material is composed of bits and pieces that the members have had adding up over the years since the release of their 1993 debut "Focus" With Traced In Air, the replacement of old guitarist found on Focus was done by Tymon Kruidenier, who does guitar work as well as death growls on this album. With so much time between releases, it is an incredible relief that Traced In Air delivered perfectly what was anticipated.

The clean vocals, done by Paul Masvidal, contain an almost un-human robotic sound to them. Accompanied occasionally by Amy Correia, doing clean back-up vocals, and Tymon Kruidenier, doing the album's death growls, the singing on this LP are done extremely well, and perfectly run along side each track. Full of emotion, the singing, unique and incredible, do an excellent job delivering the lyrics, creating the perfect atmosphere that I feel Cynic has attempted, and succeeded, in setting up. The lyrical work found throughout the album has a unique feel and sound to them, unlike most I have seen other bands produce. "I touch the string though the harp may not sing/Still I dig the sky for sun sparks to guide/Down below there's a land with an ominous hole/Dug deep in the sand of belief" lyrics found in the album's fourth track "Integral Birth" help demonstrate this; The lyrics, though definitely beautiful and smooth, hold a mysterious sound to them. I simply can't do anything but love them.

One thing I really enjoy in music, though have trouble writing in my own compositions, is effective and well placed layering. Cynic's Traced In Air does an exceedingly awesome job of this technique. The harmonies placed over the rhythmic low end in some songs, with the incredible singing to push it all beyond the line of seeing-the-earth-from-space-awesome. The kind of awesome that catches your breath and says "Hold on, you're going to really enjoy this" The work has been done with incredible skill , despite the fact that the layers are definitely not a feature of the album, but a warm fuzzy side effect of this great piece of art.

The shifts from technical to slow and simple are done with incredible finesse. Cynic truly has this technique mastered on this LP; Excellent transitioning is a great aspect to find on some of the best Prog albums, assisting in the push of Traced In Air to many of these lists. The first two tracks prove as a breathtaking example of this. "Nunc Fluens" and "The Space For This" respectfully, transition between the incredible build up that is the album's intro track "Nunc Fluens" to the start of "The Space For This" which holds on to simple and easygoing sounds Cynic has been able to show they know how to do well. Following this is a fantastic transition into the bulk of the song, which is a progressive wonder. This pattern continues without any disappointment from myself throughout the LP.

The drumming on this album is a style I love. This genre houses some incredible drumming, but the work done by original member and drummer, Sean Reinert, is above and beyond a lot of what I hear done by others. His style is unique and awe-inspiring. Additionally, it does an incredible job of flowing with the music, and can be highlighted in some sections of the album, becoming the bricks and mortar both of the album at different times. Reinert's style I find is a fantastic blend of technical and simplicity, becoming the correct style at the correct time. Every time. Additionally, I love the sound of the drums throughout the album. I can assume this is the mixing/mastering at work, however, Reinert's choice of weapon, the Tama Starclassic Performer, is a drum kit that sounds like love and fire, accompanied by the danger of electricity. So it could be arguably both an editing sound, or instrument sound, either way, it sounds amazing, and plays well with this style.

After an abundance of hours spent listening to this masterpiece, I find I can never get bored of this grand display of art. Each time it somehow offers itself as a fresh composition, never letting go of its incredible sound and fantastic track-list. The progressive and jazz elements of this album are perfectly accompanying each other, much like a musical Romeo and Juliet; The two genres have met once again, this time on Traced In Air, and instantly render as beautiful and beyond awesome.

I am certain this LP has many millions of plays ahead of it.

Although this may appear to be a 'new' album from Cynic, it is in reality an album that is now more than 15 years old. Back in 1993 the band released the wonderful 'Focus' where they mixed together metal, jazz and prog in a way that some people fully understood while others didn't, and it has to be said that their record label probably fell into the latter camp and didn't promote it as they should have done. Now, if you are only aware of the recorded history of the band you probably think that following the debut they didn't do anything until the widely- acclaimed sophomore 'Traced In Air' which came out in 2008 following their reformation, but you would be wrong. Following a lot of touring to promote 'Focus' the band split up, only for Paul Masvidal, Sean Reinert and Jason Gobel to get back together for a new project called Portal. To complete the line-up they brought in Chris Kringel and Aruna Abrams, the latter to provide a female lead/harmony vocal as they went for a different musical and vocal approach. They recorded a demo album, but nothing ever came of it until now ? strangely there is no mention of the album or the project on the band's website, but at long last we have the opportunity to hear it.

What is really interesting about this album is that while it would have surprised a lot of Cynic fans if it had been released at the time, it now sounds incredibly relevant to both what Cynic are doing and also to the music scene in general. The twin vocals work extremely well, while of course the intricate musicianship is just what one expects from these guys. The addition of Chris Kringle has made quite a difference to their overall sound as he plays fretless instead of fretted bass, and that adds a very different warmth and feel to the sound. The way he bends notes and gently moves around the music provides extra dynamics and lots more depth. Some of the songs are almost radio friendly with Aruna's vocals being quite similar to Tracy Hitchings, relaxed but with clarity and range.

I still find it hard to think that this album was recorded as a demo in the Nineties, and that it has taken until now for it to be released. It is not nearly as heavy as Cynic could be back in the day, with far more atmosphere and light within the shade, and is something that progheads need to search out much more than metalheads with prog and jazz elements often taking centre stage. www.season-of-mist.com

"Traced in Air" is the 2nd full-length studio album by US progressive metal act Cynic. The album was released through Season of Mist in November 2008. Cynic were quite a prominent name on the progressive part of the early nineties US death metal scene and they released one of the seminal albums on that scene in "Focus (1993)". They had released no less than four demos from 1988 - 1991 though and various members of the band had also worked as session musicians on albums by artists such as Atheist, Pestilence, Master and Death before the release of "Focus (1993)". They toured shortly to support the release of their debut album, but then disbanded to concentrate on other projects. So "Traced in Air" is a genuine comeback album 15 years down the line. The lineup has seen one change as guitarist Jason Gobel has been replaced by Dutch guitarist Tymon Kruidenier, who also delivers the sparse growling vocals on the album.

"Traced in Air" is a compact album featuring 8 tracks distributed over a 34:16 minutes long playing time. Not completely unlike the format of "Focus (1993)". The music style and overall sound has changed quite a bit since the debut though. The high pitched growling vocals are more subdued this time around (and predominantly appear low in the mix) and mostly appear as backing to the clean vocals and as a consequence the death metal tag that the band were given in the early nineties isn´t that valid anymore. While the technical level of playing is certainly high (and still features jazz and fusion traits) and the tracks challenging in structure and dynamics, there is a tranquil/spiritual atmosphere about "Traced in Air", that is even more pronounced than it was on "Focus (1993)".

The album features one brilliant track after another. Tracks like "The Space for This", "Evolutionary Sleeper" and "King of Those Who Know" are breathtaking to say the least. The only track I find is slightly sub par to the rest is "The Unknown Guest", but we´re still talking a high quality progressive metal track, so it´s a minor issue, that more than anything else probably comes down to personal taste.

The music is multi-layered and quite difficult to grasp upon initial listen, but fortunately the sound production is detailed and well sounding, which helps to easier understanding the music upon repeated listens. So "Traced in Air" is an album that wins on all perimeters and if you view the album in an overall perspective it´s not only a unique sounding release in Cynic´s discography but also a unique sounding album in music in general. A rare a achivement that fully deserves a 5 star (100%) rating.

"Re-Traced" is an EP release by US progressive rock/metal act Cynic. The EP was released through Season of Mist in May 2010. The five track, 23:09 minutes long EP contains re-arranged and re-recorded versions of four tracks from the band´s comeback album "Traced in Air (2008)". The last track on "Re-Traced" is a new composition called "Wheels Within Wheels".

...while the latter mentioned is a pretty soft/mellow progressive rock/metal track, it´s actually the most "metal" track on the EP. The four re-arranged pieces are mellow atmospheric/progressive/alternative rock tracks. The sound of those tracks is actually no surprise if you are familiar with Paul Masvidal´s and Sean Reinert´s alternative/atmospheric rock project Æon Spoke, which released the "Above the Buried Cry" album in 2004 and the "Æon Spoke" album in 2007, but if you expect technical/progressive metal in the vein of the first two studio albums by Cynic you´ll be surprised (and maybe disappointed). While "Re-Traced" is not tech metal madness by any means, it´s a beautiful, melancholic and emotional atmospheric rock experience instead. This is where I really learnt how strong the vocal melodies on "Traced in Air (2008)" are. Stripped from the fusion rythm foundation and layers of guitars, the vocal melodies stand naked and vulnable on top of tasteful layers of atmospheric guitars, bass, electronics and drums/percussion. It works like a charm.

"The Space for This", "Evolutionary Sleeper", "Integral Birth" and "King of Those Who Know", which are here re-titled "Space", "Evolutionary", "King" and "Integral", were all great in their original versions, but while I usually find re-recordings less than interesting, the new versions not only bring forth the high quality of the vocal melodies, they also more or less come off as unique compositions in Cynic´s discography and that´s quite the achivement.

Honestly "Re-Traced" didn´t impress me much upon the first couple of listens as I found the EP a bit dull, so it´s safe to say that it´s been a grower. This is one of those releases where I´m really glad that I gave it time to grow on me and after multible spins I can say with confidence that "Re-Traced" is a great release and a nice experiment by Cynic. A 3.5 - 4 star (75%) rating is deserved.

It's Sean Malone who really made me look an eye on the development of Cynic because I like his bass playing in Gordian Knot. This EP album which spans less than half an-hour duration is an excellent music composition that blew me away since the first time I spun it. First off, I always like the atmospheric style of their music. This time Cynic uses a female vocal with a non- English language in the opening track Amidst The Coals (2:11) that makes the atmosphere really great as an opening. It takes smoothly to another vocal-based track of the EP title Carbon-Based Anatomy (6:24) where the bass guitar work serves as rhythmic mode in the vein of Dream Theater's Never Enough (Octavarium). The guitar solo is also stunning. The next short track that serves as a bridge Bija! (2:27) is a wonderful Ravi Shankar's style with sitar as well as tabla and atmospheric voices. It then moves wonderfully to Box Up My Bones (5:33). I can find many musical breaks demonstrating guitar fills and stunning solo in the middle of the track. I like the way vocal part sings and also how the drum is played. Well, it's hard for me to find any musical reference these gentlemen use because the music is really unique and so captivating from start to end.

Looking at the EP ini broader perspective, this category of music is similar with their previous EP Traced in Air. The composition is actually not really a song orientated style however I can find the beauty of each individual song offered here with this EP. I'd rather look at this album as one whole EP that sounds like a mini concept album as the musical flow is really great. The harmonies created from the instruments and vocal are also great. Even though the music is actually not complex but it's not a simple music neither. For sure the whole EP sounds like a cohesive whole - that means this EP has strong structural integrity.

Overall, it's an excellent addition to any prog music collection. Keep on proggin' ...!!!

Peace on earth and mercy mild - GW

The technical, experimental metal subgenres have come a long way since Cynic's debut album, and the band may have been dormant for well over a decade before reforming, but if Traced In Air feels like it's lagging a little bit behind the cutting edge, it's only half a step behind. Once again, as on Focus, Cynic prove themselves to be masters of blending death metal riffage and masterful technical intricacies, and even if the sort of technical death metal they, Atheist, and Death pioneered back in the day isn't quite so shocking and avant-garde any more, it's still a hell of a lot of fun to listen to.

Cynic have been quite an enigma for me since the release of Traced In Air. The album from the reunited trio of Paul Masvidal, Sean Reinert and Sean Malone was very well recieved by the progressive metal community even if the album more often than not deviated from the familiar style that was set by Focus.

Released in 1993, Focus was a ground breaking album that reinvented the technical death metal sound and made this otherwise obscure Miami based band into heroes of the newly formed death scene. After the band's break up in 1994 it took them more than a decade to work out their differences and release their long awaited second album. Since then, the band was engaged in a lengthy tour that took them halfway around the world and showed that fans have certainly not forgotten their heroes.

It's been a few years since the band's acclaimed second album and Cynic are currently working on their third album which is currently planned to be released in 2012. Still, this doesn't mean that they can't make another love letter to their fans which is exactly what they did with the release of Carbon-Based Anatomy EP in November 2011. This 23 minute mini album is a continuous piece that's been broken down into 6 segments. The style never reaches the technical metal of their 1993 classic and there's not much tech metal to actually talk about since most of the music is very atmospheric. The title track and Box Up My Bones are the two centerpieces of this EP that serve as great companion pieces to the material off Traced In Air. Still, there are some improvements in the style that makes the music a bit more enjoyable for me. The rock instruments are a lot more prominent on Carbon-Based Anatomy and the melodies are a bit more defined.

I can definitely say that I found this material to be quite enjoyable and am certainly looking forward to the upcoming album release that will hopefully impress me even more!

***** star songs: Box Up My Bones (5:33)

**** star songs: Amidst The Coals (2:11) Carbon-Based Anatomy (6:24) Elves Beam Out (3:59)

*** star songs: Bija! (2:27) Hieroglyph (2:28)

The Three Horsemen of the Apocalypse are back ! Yes they lost a member along the way but Reinert, Malone and Masvidal are back in the saddle spreading death and pestilance along the way. Okay i'll stop with the dramatics already. CYNIC sounded like no other band when they released their debut "Focus" back in the nineties. They were trail-blazers and as such didn't have any like-minded bands to hang with let alone play with. A year later they broke up. In the meantime countless bands have been inspired by that album. They returned with the acclaimed "Traced In Air" and haven't looked back. This EP is unlike anything they have done. They have followed the path of bands like MAUDLIN OF THE WELL and KAYO DOT turning their backs on extreme music and becoming more atmospheric along the way. There was a really good interview with Masdival in the Classic Rock Presents Prog magazine not long ago. In it he talks about how he felt like a conduit-just showing up and letting his body be used as a creative outlet. "He was aiming at an "underworld, haunting dark sense" with the versus but a childlike, lullaby-esque chorus." There seems to be themes about the mind, travelling and death. It's a very spiritual album if you ask me. While it's different from LUNATIC SOUL I was reminded of that project.

"Amidst The Coals" opens with plenty of atmosphere before female vocals sing then speak in a Shaman-like manner. I should mention that she is a Folk singer named Amy Correia who is a good friend of the band and totally gets what they are trying to accomplish here. It blends into "Carbon-Based Anatomy" where the drums come in and build in an impressive way. Male vocals before 1 1/2 minutes and they will become reserved with acoustic guitar before it kicks back in. A guitar solo after 4 minutes then it eventually blends into "Bija !" a short Middle-Eastern flavoured tune with lots of percussion as Amy offers up vocal melodies.

"Box Up My Bones" gradually builds until we get a killer sound. Almost spoken vocals 1 1/2 minutes in followed by singing as these contrasts continue. "Elves Beam Out" opens with atmosphere before it kicks in hard and uptempo. Vocals too and the guitar cries out after 2 minutes. "Hieroglyph" is as Masdival describes "...like entering the portal of your pineal gland and exiting the body. Kind of like the death experience". Lots of atmosphere with spoken words.

Masdival says he's always writing about life and death, and considering he's volunteered at a hospice for the last 10 years he certainly is qualified.

Mixed Bag of Beauty, Spacy Prog, and New Age Mellowness

Cynic is absolutely one of my favorite bands. TRACED IN AIR is in my opinion one of the best albums ever made. The band integrates so many things I love into one brilliant and singular sound. Jazzy grooves and harmonic structure, technical metal guitar flourishes, psychedelic textures, and eastern mysticism. These are a few of my fav-or-ite things. With CARBON BASED ANATOMY, Cynic is the least metal and most psych-prog it's ever been. On paper, that doesn't bother me at all. However, in execution, the band has lost a little of its edge.

Paul Masdival is getting more and more comfortable with his singing voice, and though his sense of pitch and melody are fine, his natural timbre is a bit "bratty" and as he sheds the heavy processing (Cynic's signature "robot vocals") and the backing growls, the music suffers a bit. This is most annoying on the chorus of "Box Up My Bones" which has an almost alt-pop quality that isn't bad per se, but is simply not what I'm looking for when I put on a Cynic album. "Elves Beam Out" is better, with some very strong instrumental sections but lacking the grand refrains a la "Evolutionary Sleeper." The best song by far is the title track, which seems like the logical evolution of Cynic's sound moving from FOCUS through TIA. The fade in of the two Seans is brilliant as ever (please keep Malone on every Cynic project!!!), and the sci-fi lyric is the best on the album. Shimmering clean guitars, pulsing bass, this is what I bought the album for.

The other three tracks are world-tinged transitions that I personally like quite a bit, but again move the EP decidedly into the range of New Age ambience. By the end of the space- trance "Hieroglyph" I'm left feeling happy to have new Cynic material that does indeed offer something new to their body of work, but also just a bit disappointed. What I'd really like is a longer work (30-40 minutes) where the band brings a bit of the metal back, abandons any poppish aspiration, but keeps the ambient interludes. Keeping the range of emotion and sounds that we've grown to love from this band would hopefully push them back into masterpiece level.

This is a 3.5 star album I'm rounding up because they are Cynic after all, and this is still some of the best space metal you can find.

6/10

"Carbon Based Anatomy" gives solid, brave music, but leaves the listener wanting more.

Legendary act Cynic have been known for years thanks to their 1994 debut "Focus", a Technical Death Metal landmark album. After such a long hiatus, they returned in 2008 with their sophomore album "Traced In Air", where the previous sound was rejected completely in favor of a more Modern Progressive Rock one mixed with some Alternative Rock, like many Metal bands have done. "Carbon Based Anatomy" now is their first EP with new material since their demos from the nineties.

It seems like Cynic have no intention to go back to their original sound, continuing their experiments from "Traced In Air". This EP and the previous album as a matter of fact share many qualities: the vocals, first of all, are almost sweet sounding in their delicious cleanness; The rhythms are odd time in many points, the drums being influenced by Fusion, there are wonderful spacey soundscapes that give a dreamy touch to the whole pieces. But there is one big difference: while "Traced In Air" still had some Metal within it, "Carbon Based Anatomy" has nothing whatsoever that can be labeled that way: these twenty three minutes are a relaxing, mellow, and sometimes beautiful mixture of some Progressive, Alternative Rock melodies, and very ambitious instrumentation.

Being a six track EP, you'd expect from these guys to receive pretty much flawless entertainment all the way through, but instead, some moments feel a little too toned down, the melodies sometimes aren't quite as memorable or innovating as they were in "Traced In Air", and finally the vocals don't feel quite as powerful and emotional as previous times, even though Paul Masvidal's voice itself has a very pretty tone, as he always had for clean vocals.

The three Ambient experiments are interesting, as well as the atmospheres they create, especially for the intro of the album "Amidst The Coals". The best full length songs here seem to be the title track, with it's dragging and hypnotic sounds, and "Box Up My Bones", a step down to the mentioned piece but still very pretty and engaging in its liveliness. "Elves Beam Out" is a little forgettable in my opinion, even though it's originality is undeniable.

Overall I was left wanting more with "Carbon-Based Anatomy", but this material has no doubt gave me a great feeling for the works to come from the band, who will be releasing the full length third album soon.